Star Crazy
I thoroughly agreed with most of your choices of great men and women in “Voices of the Century: 100 Years of Stars” (July 19), but I found David Gates’s introduction too nationalistic. Economically and culturally, America has dominated the world. However, it is arrogant to say, “It was the American Century.” When one considers the great wealth and quality of European and world culture, this attitude can only reflect the American psyche. The fact that even in a remote “Himalayan village, there’s someone wearing a T shirt with the face of Sylvester Stallone” should not make you proud. Please remember this magazine is read in countries other than the United States. Guy Wilmot London, England
Your “Voices of the Century: 100 Years of Stars” was incredible fun and impossible to stop reading. Michael Ryan Topeka, Kansas
Your issue was a director’s delight. Classic anecdotes, sizing up, or down, of colleagues, personal anxieties–the really real substance–impressed this reader. Bravo. Todd Ragsdale Scudder Richmond, Virginia
I enjoyed your July 19 issue and its excellent report but fail to understand the inclusion of Leni Riefenstahl. She was totally dedicated to Hitler from the beginning, was known to have a very close relationship with Goebbels and used her film-making talents and ability to photograph well to the benefit of the Nazi party. Her statement that she hated Hitler at the end was simply motivated by his losing the war and destroying her faith in him, and to save her own skin. I wonder whether, since 1945, she has reflected on the support she provided or has given any thought to the concentration camps and the 6 million Jews murdered by the man she admired. Peter Frankel Cascais, Portugal
“I Heard Nothing But the Screams,” the title of your article on the Beatles’ 1964 appearance on “The Ed Sullivan Show,” exactly describes my own experience. I was in the audience that Feb. 9, a young teenager, with three of my friends. I remember every detail about the Beatles. What’s amazing is that I haven’t been able to remember who else was on the show that night. Now, thanks to Frank Gorshin’s recollection, I know who one of those acts was. My belated apologies to him for screaming through his act. Ann Godley Elmwood Park, New Jersey
I noted with disappointment that, in an otherwise outstanding issue on entertainment and the arts, NEWSWEEK failed to mention arguably the most recognizable gay figure of the 20th century. The emergence of Boy George in 1982 was significant in that it effectively ended the ability of a celebrity to shock an unsuspecting public. Although his career eventually crashed and burned, it reflected a watershed in popular culture’s debate on what gender could be: exactly what one wished. Brad Ballantyne Rosbach, Germany
For 35 years as a showbiz columnist, I kept pursuing the significant, revelatory anecdote. Your salute to American entertainment was a fascinating treasury of such gems. Thanks for an exceptional nostalgiathon. Harry Harris Elkins Park, Pennsylvania
It is inconceivable that anyone who writes about music in the last 100 years could do so without mentioning Michael Jackson at all. Jackson’s revolution in music far outweighs that of any individual or group before or after him. He is a household name worldwide. I learned the “electric shock,” which changed dancing as we know it, growing up in a remote Nigerian village. Ozoemena Emmanuel Sunday Tokyo, Japan
If I wanted information about entertainment, I would buy an entertainment magazine. “100 Years of Stars” provided your readers with 27 pages of nostalgic boredom about people whom most of us who have lived in this century already know. Please leave the nostalgia, fashion and entertainment to others and stick with what you really do well–news. Timoty Bentch Szeged, Hungary
A Horrifying Ritual
I grew up in Kenya, and your picture of the woman lying on the ground undergoing female genital mutilation (FGM) saddened me deeply (“The Ritual of Pain,” Society & the Arts, July 5). That horror is something that should send all of us reeling into action. The sight of those old women bending over the young woman and the disgusting stares from the bystanders, many of whom are men, are revolting. That picture will forever be imprinted in my memory. Mukami Mbugua Hayward, California I come from an African region where FGM is common. It’s intriguing that this diabolic atrocity is perpetuated by the older women who are hellbent, ostensibly, on providing a cultural bulwark against an imagined oversexuality–which, if not controlled, would lead to impropriety and moral decadence. They foist the practice on the gullible by presenting it as though it were an Islamic injunction, when in reality the practice has no basis in Islam. It’s high time that this outdated practice–which causes nothing but untold suffering and complications–is abandoned. Abdirahman Nuh Istanbul, Turkey
War Lessons
If the war against Yugoslavia was so just, why do the media keep trying so hard to convince us of the necessity of this war (“The Lessons of a ‘War of Values’,” World View, June 28)? Helen and George Stathis Athens, Greece
A Cultural Mix
Thanks, NEWSWEEK, for showcasing the Latino identity in “Latino America,” (U.S. Affairs, July 12). For millions of us who were born or grew up in the United States, your cover story has defined with words what we feel in our souls. We do not want to give up our cultural heritage–our language, our traditions–when we have them so close to home. But most American Latinos love to mix our two cultures. Ritchie Valens, for instance, fused his Mexican folklore with American rock 40 years ago to give the world an American rock-and-roll classic called “La Bamba.” That was a perfect example of the variety and spice of being bicultural. We take pride in being American and Latin simultaneously. Your article will help eliminate the stigma and stereotype that have long burdened us. Gladys Hernandez West New York, New Jersey
“So the rest of America must learn to adapt” to the increasing Hispanic influence in the United States? As a 19-year-old white female, I find it difficult to be optimistic about this trend. Entire main streets in my town have become wholly Spanish-speaking and cater mainly to the Hispanic community. Back in my predominantly Hispanic high school, the national anthem was often disregarded, replaced with shouts of “¡Viva Mexico!” And, inquiring about potential summer jobs, I have been told by employers not to bother applying unless I’m bilingual. I’m all for preserving and celebrating individual cultures, and I honestly love the diversity and ethnic richness of America, but is it such a terrible idea to move to a new country and learn the language? What happened to preserving America’s culture? Name Withheld Cicero, Illinois
The tone of your article on Latino America and the attitude of some Latinos appears to be, “Hey, we’re not going to assimilate into your culture… you’re going to have to accept ours.” It seems everyone wants to come to America, but no one wants to be an “American.” Some look upon multiculturalism and diversity as a good thing. But can the United States really survive as a unified country with everyone wanting to do his own thing and no one left but hyphenated Americans? Vernon Steele Pascagoula, Mississippi
A solid “well done, NEWSWEEK!” for your coverage of Latinos in the United States. I served in the U.S. Air Force with hundreds of Hispanics. Excellent technicians, they rose through the ranks as fast as the Anglos. As to the future of Latinos, Christy Haubegger needs to see what I saw. Mexican-American GIs had no trouble fitting in; they dated and wed local girls regularly. As a teacher in Vallejo, California, I had hundreds of their children in my classes, and they were American to the core. Sorry, Christy, America has always been a melting pot, and it will never be a stronghold for any one ethnic group. George M. Atwood Point Reyes Station, California
The Latino community is complex, with its different cultures and backgrounds. As fast as we are growing to be an influential part of American politics and commerce, the lack of education, financial progress and access to technology is growing as well. As a Latina, I think it’s important that people around me understand that where I came from matters and must be acknowledged as unique, but it does not mean I don’t want to participate in the different world of ethnicity and Americanism that surrounds me. Kim O. Mercado Via Internet
